


Pub Quiz

by charliewrites



Category: Lovely Little Losers, Nothing Much to Do
Genre: AU, First Meetings, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-06
Updated: 2016-04-06
Packaged: 2018-05-31 16:15:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6477178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charliewrites/pseuds/charliewrites
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peter and his friends go to a pub quiz.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pub Quiz

’Please remind me why exactly I agreed to do this,’ Beatrice asked as she, Peter, Freddie, and Kit sat down in a booth with a glass of either beer or wine in front of them. 

‘Because Ben bribed you – most likely with sexual favours,’ Peter teased and winced when she swatted him. ‘Besides, you never turn down an opportunity to win at something.’

‘That’s true,’ she said, shrugging. 

Ben joined them with a handful of pens and a piece of paper. 

‘Okay, we need a name,’ he said. ‘I suggest The Five Flamingos.’

Everyone around the table groaned in protest.

‘What about the Lovely Little Losers? You know, like that YouTube channel you set up for me a while ago,’ Peter suggested. He’d never actually used the channel for anything.

‘Wouldn’t that be setting ourselves up for failure, though?’ Freddie asked. ‘Calling ourselves losers from the get go?’

‘No, I like it! That way it’ll be sweet, sweet irony when we inevitably win!’ Ben said. Peter raised his eyebrows, appreciating the support. 

‘How about we put it to a vote?’ Kit suggested.

With only Freddie opposing the idea, Ben wrote _Lovely Little Losers_ at the top of the paper.

The bar was pretty full for a Wednesday night with groups of people huddled around the tables. The place was buzzing with chatter and anticipation. 

A woman stood on a small elevated stage and spoke into a microphone. ‘Hello, and welcome to tonight’s pub quiz! First things first: If you do not have a team name written at the top of your answer sheet, you will be disqualified. Now, we have ten questions for you tonight, plus a bonus question provided by our resident musical genius, who you’ll meet later. And with that, let’s get started!’

The group did well at working together for the answered, all things considered. Peter had to intervene twice, though, when Bea kept insisting that Ben was spelling ‘pterodactyl’ wrong, and when Freddie was convinced that everyone was wrong in including Pluto as a planet in our solar system. But otherwise, Peter had a good feeling about their chances by the time they had all the ten answers written down. 

‘Now for the bonus question, please welcome to the stage: our resident musical prodigy, Balthazar Jones!’ the quiz master said, and the bar broke out into applause as the musician made his way onto the stage. 

Peter had to do a double take. He’d expected a heavily tattooed and pierced, huge guy with a name like Balthazar Jones so he was surprised to see a small, innocent looking guy sitting down by the keyboard. He was wearing an oversized sweater that seemed to be swallowing him, and his shy smile was the most adorable thing, Peter had ever seen. 

‘Thanks, guys. So, um, I’ll be playing an obscured version of a pop song that you should all know fairly well and all you have to do is guess what song it is,’ he said into the microphone. ‘I believe a correct answer is worth three points? Is that right, Amy?’

‘Yes, a correct answer is indeed worth three points so it could be what determines your victory, guys. Listen closely,’ the quizmaster said and nodded at the musician. 

Peter was entranced. He didn’t really listen to the music so much as just stare at Balthazar as he was playing. He seemed to immerse himself completely into the music. It was endearing. 

‘Earth to Pedro!’ Bea said, snapping her fingers in front of his face, pulling him from his trance. ‘It was definitely _Shake it Off_ by Taylor Swift, right?’

‘Um, I guess?’ Peter said.

‘Ugh, you’re hopeless!’ she groaned. 

Peter couldn’t find it in himself to care. He looked up to see that Balthazar had moved to the bar, chatting to Amy, the quizmaster, while nursing a beer. He had to talk to him. He’d kick himself for days if he didn’t. 

‘Anyone want refills? My treat,’ he said, already getting up before getting any answers. 

‘Oh, could you hand in this while you’re up there?’ Ben asked and handed him the answer sheet. 

Peter steeled himself before he approached the bar, standing beside Balthazar, trying to seem casual. 

‘Hey, you’re the musician, right? You’re really good,’ he said, leaning against the bar after he’d ordered the drinks for the table.

Balthazar turned to him and smiled. ‘Thanks. I’m not going to give you the answers, though,’ he said with a laugh. 

‘What?’ Peter asked, confused. Balthazar nodded at the answer sheet in Peter’s hand. ‘Oh, I wasn’t gonna- I was just- I was just handing this in, actually.’ He cringed inwardly at how flustered he was. He could feel his ears grow hot.

‘It’s alright. Just give it here,’ Balthazar said with a laugh. ‘I’ll make sure Amy gets it.’

Peter handed him the paper, intentionally brushing their fingers together. It was electric. ‘Thanks man.’

‘ _Lovely Little Losers_? That’s an interesting team name,’ Balthazar commented, looking from the sheet to Peter with an amused smile. 

‘Oh, yeah. It’s, um, kind of an in-joke,’ Peter mumbled, not sure where to look. It was new to him to be this flustered around other people. He was usually very charismatic. ‘Um, I’m Peter, by the way. Peter Donaldson.’

‘Balthazar Jones.’ 

‘Yeah, I know. You really are good. Do you play anything besides piano?’ Peter asked, inching just a tiny bit closer, testing the waters a bit. He didn’t seem to mind. In fact, if Peter wasn’t mistaking, he was leaning closer himself. 

‘Yeah, I play a few,’ Balthazar said with a smile that told Peter that there was a joke in there that he didn’t get. ‘I mostly play guitar and piano, though.’

‘That’s so cool! I’ve never been able to play anything. Not well, anyway,’ Peter said, and Balthazar laughed. _Yes! He’s laughing at my jokes!_

‘Well, you know, it takes patience to learn an instrument,’ Balthazar said, looking down at his beer with a shy smile. 

‘I guess I’ll have to find a patient teacher, then,’ Peter said and winked at him. It was a risk to be that straightforward, but god, this boy was making him feel a little dizzy. 

Balthazar’s cheeks were definitely growing red, Peter was sure of it. 

They locked eyes. For a moment, all there was in the world were those blue eyes. They were like the cloudless sky on a warm summer day, like the tropical sea. If he went blind tomorrow, those eyes would be what he’d miss the most, he was sure of it. 

‘Balth, come on! You promised you’d help me,’ Amy cut through their moment. It suddenly dawned on Peter just how close they were standing. There could be no more than ten centimetres between them. 

‘I should…’ Balthazar trailed off, gesturing vaguely towards where Amy was waiting for him. 

Peter cleared his throat. ‘Yeah, I should go back to my table with these,’ he gestured to the tray of refills that had been there for a few minutes already. ‘But, um…’ he bit his lower lip. ‘Could I maybe get your number?’

Balthazar smiled, and Peter’s pulse sped up. ‘Yeah, sure.’

When they’d exchanged numbers, Peter returned to the table with the drinks. He tried to ignore the looks that his friends were sending him. 

‘This beer is lukewarm, Peter,’ Beatrice said after taking a sip. ‘Did you really have to chat up that guy while you were getting our drinks?’

Peter’s ears grew hot. ‘I was not chatting him up.’

‘Ooh! Our little Peteley has a cruush!’ Ben teased.

‘Shut up, Benedick!’ Peter groaned and hid his face in his hands. This was the price he paid for being the only single member of their friend group. How the hell did it end up like this? How had everyone found someone to fall in love with except for him? He’d been the one with two semi serious relationships in high school while Bea and Ben pretended to hate each other. Now he hadn’t been in a proper relationship _since_ high school. 

Not that he’d been looking the first year. He’d enjoyed the commitment free status quo that reigned his life that year. But now he was getting a little sick of third wheeling – or in case of that particular night, fifth wheeling – his friends’ dates. 

Him being the only single person in their friend group also meant that his romantic life was always up for scrutiny, something he definitely didn’t enjoy. Not only did his friends think they knew everything there was to know about love, they also thought they had a say in who and how he dated. It was driving him insane. 

‘Are you going to ask him out? He’s cute’ Kit said, putting his arms around Freddie when she nudged him.

‘Yeah, he is. But I don’t know. Maybe. We’ll see how it goes,’ Peter said with a shrug and sat back against the backrest. Kit was the least invasive so Peter liked him best in these situations.

‘Alright, people! We have scored your answers and found a winner,’ Amy said into the microphone then and everyone turned their attention to where she was standing on the stage.

Peter noticed Balthazar standing by the foot of the stage and his chest tightened. He was _really_ cute. 

‘On third place we have a newcomer group: _The Lovely Little Losers_!’ Amy announced and there was a mix of muttering, laughter and clapping around the bar. 

‘Well, that sucks,’ Bea said, frowning. 

‘Yeah, I really thought we had this in the bag,’ Ben agreed, resting his head on his hand. 

‘This is because you said that Pluto is a planet, I’m sure of it,’ Freddie said.

‘Come on, guys! We got third place on our first night here! I’d say that’s pretty good. And we had fun! In fact, why don’t we make this a weekly thing?’ Peter said, trying to cheer up his friends. Yes, it sucked that they hadn’t won but they’d gotten to hang out together which they hardly ever did anymore. At least not like this. 

‘You just want to come back here because you have a crush on the music guy,’ Bea said, pushing him playfully. 

‘Shut up!’ Peter mumbled, his ears once again growing hot. 

-

He must have typed out about 50 different variations of the same text from Wednesday night to Thursday morning. He wanted to come off as nonchalant but not apathetic, and at the same time he wanted to convey just how much he’d like to go out with Balthazar without sounding desperate. He also wanted it to be flirty, but without overdoing it in case he’d misread the signals, and Balthazar wasn’t actually interested. 

‘Have you actually texted him yet?’ Ben asked as they were sitting down for a lecture. Peter had been staring at his phone the whole morning, typing, erasing, and retyping the message.

‘Not yet, no,’ Peter answered as he pulled out his notebook and a pen from his bag. 

‘Well, you better do it soon, otherwise he’ll think you’re not interested,’ Ben said matter-of-factly. 

‘Why is it on me to text first anyway? He hasn’t texted me either,’ Peter complained and laid his head in his arms that were resting on the desk in front of him. 

‘You were the one who asked for his number, right? Not the other way around?’ Ben asked. 

‘Yeah, so what?’

‘It’s Dating 101, Peter. The one to ask for the number is the one in control. _You_ asked for his number so _you_ have to text him first,’ Ben explained. 

Peter lifted his head and looked at Ben. ‘That actually makes a little sense.’

He pulled out his phone and started typing. When he was done he read it back and erased it again. 

‘Ugh, why is this _so hard_?’ he groaned, leaning his head back in exasperation before returning his attention to the phone. 

‘Well, what do you want to say? Like, what words keep popping up when you try texting him?’ Ben asked. 

‘I really don’t want to text him that,’ Peter admitted. 

‘You don’t have to send it, just type it out. Think of it like a first draft,’ Ben encouraged. 

‘Alright,’ Peter said and typed out the message before handing the phone to Ben. 

‘”You’re really cute, wanna go get ice cream?” Really?’ Ben looked like he was trying to hide his laugh with very little success. 

‘I told you I didn’t want to text him that! Stop judging me!’ Peter said and snatched back his phone. He went to erase the message, but somehow – in the process of taking back the phone from Ben – the message had sent. 

Panic and dread rushed through him. 

‘No. No, no, no, no, no! Please unsend!’ he muttered as he tried and failed at retrieving the message. ‘This is _not_ happening right now.’

‘What?’ Ben asked. Peter merely showed him the screen with the sent message. ‘Oh, wow. Well, at least now you’ll know if he actually likes you. Wait, he’s typing!’

Peter pulled the phone back to see the three dots that indicated that Balthazar was typing. Peter’s heart was pounding. 

‘Phones away, please!’ The professor called, indicating that he was starting the lecture. 

Reluctantly, Peter put his phone in his bag and tried concentrating on what the professor said. The entire time, though, he was itching to check his phone. He would definitely need to borrow Ben’s notes later. 

After the lecture, Peter immediately fished his phone out of his bag. Ben had left as he had another lecture straight after. 

Peter found a bench outside and sat down, checking his phone with a pounding heart. 

Balthazar Jones:  
_Straight to the point – I like it :P I can’t today, though. Saturday?_

Well, apparently he was cool with Peter making a complete idiot of himself. He let out a sigh of relief and read it again, not able to hold back a smile. 

Peter:  
_Saturday sounds great :) Meet you at noon by Boyet’s?_

He sat back and put on his sunglasses. It was a really nice day out; the sun was shining from a cloudless sky. His phone buzzed in his hand. 

Balthazar Jones:  
_It’s a date :)_

Three little words had never made his chest flutter more. Okay, maybe he did have a tiny crush on the musician. He wasn’t going to admit that to his friends, though. They’d never let him hear the end of it. 

-

Saturday morning, Peter woke up to his alarm screaming at him at 9am. He grumbled, snoozed it and turned around before he remembered just why he’d set an alarm on a Saturday. 

He shot up, his heart suddenly beating fast. He was seeing Balthazar today. He turned off the alarm and took a moment to check his messages. He’d been trying to spark up a conversation with Balthazar last night, but once again his inability to compose a message that he was happy with had gotten in the way of that. So there was no text from Balthazar. 

Still, Peter stared at their brief but exhilarating conversation from Thursday, before he got up to have a shower. 

Freddie was in the kitchen, nursing a cup of coffee, when Peter walked in and grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl after his shower. 

‘You’re up early,’ she noted, narrowing her eyes at him. ‘And uncharacteristically cheerful. What’s going on?’

‘Can’t a guy be up and happy on a beautiful Saturday morning?’ Peter asked and leaned against the kitchen counter. He couldn’t quite hide the smile on his face. 

‘Yes, but usually you don’t show your face outside your room before noon on the weekend, and if you do you’re always moody,’ Freddie said, taking a sip of her coffee. 

Peter shrugged. ‘I have plans today.’

Freddie’s eyes widened and a smile spread on her face. ‘You have a date with the music guy, don’t you?’

‘It’s not a _date_ ; we’re just getting ice cream,’ he said and rolled his eyes. 

‘That’s totally a date!’ she said and set down her mug. ‘Remember to brush your teeth before you leave; nothing’s worse than kissing someone with bad breath.’

‘Right, I’m going to go before you turn into some embarrassing mum and start offering me condoms to bring,’ Peter said, grabbing his wallet, sunglasses, and keys before swiftly exiting the flat. 

-

He had a couple of hours to kill before he was supposed to meet Balthazar so he went the long way round. He ended up by the water and sat down, looking out at the horizon. With four flat mates – three of which were quite loud mouthed – he enjoyed going down to the water for some quiet time. Sure, he wasn’t the quietest person himself, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t appreciate quiet moments like these, looking out at the sea stretching as far as he could see. 

He let his thoughts wander – a few points he wanted to make in his next classics assignment, the way Balthazar had leaned forward just a little when they’d talked at the bar, the fact that he needed to do his laundry tomorrow if he wanted clean clothes for the next week, how he wanted to wear his blue flowered button down on Wednesday when they went to the pub quiz, maybe Balthazar would like that?

The smell of salt water tickled his nose as he heaved a deep breath. The morning sun warmed up his skin and he pulled the sleeves of his navy blue sweater up to his elbows. The sound of the waves crashing onto the shore kept him calm as he tried not to think too much about what he was actually going to say to Balthazar. If he was lucky, it would come to him naturally. 

-

He reached Boyet’s with ten minutes to spare, thinking that he could get a coffee before Balthazar got there. 

However, Balthazar was already sitting at one of the tables outside with a ukulele in his hands and a notebook on the table in front of him. Peter’s pulse quickened. 

‘Hey,’ he said when he got to the table, not sure if he should sit down. 

Balthazar looked up, a smile spreading on his lips. ‘Hey. You can sit if you want.’

Peter sat down across from Balthazar. ‘What’re you working on?’

‘Oh, just a song that’s been in my head for a few days. Can’t seem to get it right, though,’ he said, frowning down at the notebook. 

‘You wanna play it to me? I don’t know much about music but you never know. I might be of some help,’ Peter offered, not quite sure what to do with his hands. 

Balthazar studied him for a moment. Peter shifted uncomfortably in his seat. 

‘I’m not sure we’re quite there yet,’ he said slowly with a shy smile. _Yet_ , Peter thought. _So there’s a potential for us to get there_.

‘Right. Sorry,’ Peter said, looking down. 

‘It’s alright. Thanks anyway,’ Balthazar said, closing his notebook. 

In that moment, a tall guy with glasses and annoyingly good hair approached them with a brown bag in his hands. 

‘Hey Balthazar, I thought you’d like to try our new brownies,’ the guy said, obviously nervous, handing Balthazar the bag. 

‘Thanks Fred. How much do I owe you?’ Balthazar asked, already having his wallet out. 

‘Oh, no. They’re on the house,’ Fred said, refusing to accept the bill that Balthazar was holding out. ‘I should get back to work. Let me know what you think, though.’

‘Will do,’ Balthazar replied as Fred went back into the shop, and went back to packing up his things. 

‘He a friend of yours?’ Peter asked, gesturing at the door. He couldn’t quite ignore the tiny bit of jealousy that had flared up during the exchange. 

‘Who, Fred? Yeah, I guess. He owns the place. I come here pretty much every day so we’ve talked a few times,’ Balthazar said with a shrug. 

‘So you guys aren’t… a thing?’ Peter couldn’t stop himself. _Might as well get it out of the way from the get go_ , he told himself.

‘What? No, definitely not. My friend, Paige, thinks he has a crush on me but... I don’t know. I just don’t see him that way,’ Balthazar said with another shrug. Then he smirked. ‘Why? Are you jealous?’

‘What? No! Why would I be jealous?’ Peter asked, admittedly a little too defensive. 

‘No reason,’ Balthazar said with an amused smile, looking into the bag Fred had given him. ‘Do you want to split this?’

‘Are you sure?’ Peter asked, not sure if Balthazar was just being polite.

‘Yeah, I already had one the other day. They’re really good; you should try,’ Balthazar said, breaking the brownie in two and holding the larger piece out at him. 

Peter took it and tentatively took a bite. He nodded as he chewed and took another bite. ‘That is a decent brownie.’

‘Decent? They’re heavenly! I swear the food here is the best!’ Balthazar said, munching on his own piece. 

Peter looked over at Balthazar. For some reason it bothered him a little that Balthazar was so into the food that Fred had given him. Okay, maybe he was a bit jealous. But he didn’t feel like he had the right to be. 

‘Eh, my friend Hero can do better,’ he said with a shrug. 

‘If that’s true, she truly lives up to her name,’ Balthazar said, finishing his brownie before getting up. ‘Shall we go?’

-

They walked down the street to an ice cream shop before walking together to the park. They ended up on a picnic bench by a lake. Peter tried to keep up a casual conversation, and Balthazar complied, but he had that amused smile on his lip the entire time. After 20 minutes, Peter caved. 

‘Alright, what’s so funny? Do I have ice cream on my chin or something?’ he asked. 

‘Nah, it’s just…’ Balthazar chuckled. ‘You’re making a valiant attempt at being cool.’

‘You’re saying I’m not cool?’ Peter asked in mock offence, placing his hand on his chest for effect. 

‘Well, _now_ you are, yes. But it’s hard to take you seriously after that text,’ Balthazar tried to hold back a laugh. It wasn’t working very well. 

‘Ugh, don’t remind me! That was so _embarrassing_!’ Peter said, hiding his face in the hand that wasn’t holding his ice cream. 

‘Nah, it was cute,’ Balthazar said, that amused smile still on his lip. ‘Like I said, I like that it was straight to the point. I hate that thing where you both play it cool and have to guess whether the other person is actually flirting with you or not. It was refreshing, you know?’

Peter raised his eyebrows at Balthazar disbelievingly. ‘Can we talk about something else, please?’

‘Sure, what do you want to talk about?’ Balthazar asked, trying his best at a serious face. His eyes were glinting with amusement, though. It was endearing. 

‘What are you studying?’ Peter asked, wanting to get to know the musician. 

‘Music, mostly,’ Balthazar replied, the amused smile returning. ‘And history.’

Peter tried to decipher why that was funny. When it dawned on him, his eyes widened, horror spreading through his body. 

‘You’re not by chance taking Professor Johnson’s history course, are you?’ he asked, dreading the answer. 

‘Mhm,’ Balthazar said, apparently not trusting himself to say anything else, his lips pressed together. 

‘So Thursday morning you-‘ Peter cut himself off, not wanting to imagine it. 

‘I was two rows behind you,’ Balthazar said, biting his lower lip, trying very badly to hide a laugh. ‘Your little freak-out was very entertaining.’

‘Oh, my god!’ Peter groaned, feeling his face grow hot. ‘And you didn’t think to make yourself known?!’

‘Why would I want to do that?’ Balthazar laughed. 

Peter narrowed his eyes at Balthazar. ‘You are evil, Balthazar Jones.’

Balthazar wiggled his eyebrows at him. Peter found it way more attractive than he probably should.

‘Well, I’m horrified,’ Peter said, placing his hand over his eyes, peeking out at Balthazar who was full blown laughing now. 

‘Nah, it was cute,’ Balthazar said when he’d calmed down a little, a smile still playing on his lips. 

‘I’ll never forgive you for this,’ Peter said but couldn’t hide the smile that was fighting its way onto his face. Balthazar’s laughter was like music to his ears. 

‘I’ll make it up to you,’ Balthazar said before blushing profusely. 

‘Wow! Already? You weren’t kidding about getting straight to the point,’ Peter laughed and steadied himself with a hand on the table as Balthazar shoved him playfully. 

‘Get your dirty mind away from me!’ Balthazar said, but his blush persisted. 

It was easy talking to Balthazar after that. Somehow, knowing that Balthazar had seen him freak out about texting him made him _less_ self-conscious and he was able to relax. 

At one point, they were laughing at the story of how Ben and Bea had finally gotten together when Peter noticed that Balthazar had some ice cream on his nose. 

‘Wait, you have a little…’ he said, reaching out and wiping it away with a napkin. ‘I swear, my life is a bad rom-com.’

Balthazar chuckled at that and looked down, seeming suddenly a little shy at the intimacy. 

Peter bit his lower lip. He may have told Freddie that there wouldn’t be any kissing but at that moment it was overwhelmingly tempting. He made eye contact with Balthazar and then looked down at his lips, wetting his own. His heart was pounding. For a moment, they both leaned in. 

But then Balthazar pulled away and stood up. ‘I should get home. I have plans tonight.’

Peter’s heart dropped to his stomach. _Way to blow it, Donaldson_. ‘Oh. Um, yeah. Of course.’

‘You wanna walk me home?’ Balthazar asked, cocking his head. 

‘Sure,’ Peter said, a small smile on his face. He hadn’t messed it up completely. 

-

Peter went straight to his room when he got back to the flat that afternoon. He flopped down on his bed, looking at the ceiling and tried to slow down his heart rate as he went through the day in his head. 

The walk to Balthazar’s flat had been a little awkward at first but then Balthazar had started telling a story about how he had once tried to make vegan feta without having all the ingredients. After that, the conversation had flowed comfortably again. If Peter wasn’t mistaken, Balthazar had even flirted a bit and maybe not-so-accidentally bumped his hand against Peter’s a few times – he certainly hoped it hadn’t been accidentally. His entire arm was still tingling. 

When they’d reached Balthazar’s flat, they’d stood there for a moment after finishing they conversation. 

‘I would invite you in but I don’t think we’re quite there yet,’ Balthazar had said. Peter’s chest had fluttered. There was that ‘yet’ again. 

‘Another time, then,’ Peter had said with a warm smile. Balthazar had returned it. 

They’d stood there, smiling at each other, for about a minute. Peter had thought maybe Balthazar was going to kiss him, but then one of Balthazar’s flat mates had opened the door, keys in hand as if she was on her way out, and the moment had been ruined. Peter had cleared his throat, said good bye and walked away. 

He pulled the pillow from under his head and screamed into it. Yup, he definitely had a crush on Balthazar. 

His phone buzzed in his pocket. 

Balthazar Jones:  
_I had a really good time today. We should do it again sometime :)_

Peter’s chest fluttered, and he sighed happily. It had been a while since he’d been this happy. 

Peter:  
_Yes please! I had a really good time as well, despite your evil games ;)_

-

‘You’d think he’d put his phone away when he got to the bar they met at,’ Beatrice complained as they filed into the same booth they’d been in a week earlier. Freddie and Kit had opted out since they both had assignments due the next morning. ‘Do you ever run out of things to say to each other? You have literally been texting non-stop for _four days_!’

‘That’s rich coming from you!’ Peter laughed, momentarily looking up from his phone. 

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ Bea asked, affronted. 

‘It means that you and Ben literally only stop talking to each other to say something so someone else,’ Peter said, giving her a challenging look. 

‘That’s simply not true and I refuse to even acknowledge it!’

Peter’s phone buzzed. 

Balthazar Jones:  
_That shirt looks good on you ;)_

He couldn’t hide the smile on his face when he read the text. Subtly, he tried finding Balthazar in the crowded bar, but he was neither by the bar or stage. 

Peter:  
_Are you playing mind games with me again? :o_

A beer was put down in front of him and Ben sat down beside him. 

‘He’d better be giving you the answers; I refuse to lose tonight! Even if we are down two players,’ Ben said, scribbling their team name at the top of the paper. 

‘I’m not going to ask him for the answers, Ben. What’s the point of winning if you cheat?’ Peter asked. His phone buzzed again. 

Balthazar Jones:  
_Might be. Or maybe I’m at one of the tables in the middle with my friends ;)_

Peter tried to find him but had no such luck. 

Peter:  
_You are literally too well camouflaged. I can’t find you :(_

‘The winners get drinks on the house, Pedro! On the house! That’s worth cheating for!’ Ben said, knowing full well that Peter was only half listening. 

‘No, it’s not. Trust me, the victory will be sweetest if it’s won fair and square,’ Peter said, putting his hand on Ben’s shoulder. 

Balthazar Jones:  
_Alright, meet you at the bar in two? ;)_

Peter:  
_(Y)_

‘If you’ll excuse me,’ he said, already getting up and pushing for Ben to let him out. 

Balthazar was at the bar, ordering, when Peter got there. He was wearing a loose, black button down with the sleeves pealed back to his elbows. He looked damn good. 

‘Hey there,’ Peter said when he reached him. 

‘Hey,’ Balthazar replied with a shy smile. It was strange, the difference between how Balthazar acted over text as opposed to face to face. 

‘So who are these friends you were sitting with?’ Peter couldn’t keep himself from asking. It was killing him that Balthazar knew where he was sitting but not vice versa. 

‘They’re right there,’ Balthazar said and pointed to a table where a girl in a flower crown – the girl who’d interrupted their moment outside Balthazar’s flat – waved at him. He waved back. ‘They’re the reigning champions.’

‘Ah, The Enemy, as my friends have taken to calling them,’ Peter said, his chest fluttering at Balthazar’s laugh. ‘They probably only win because you tell them the answer to the bonus question.’

Balthazar put his hand on his chest in mock offence. ‘I would never!’

‘No, ‘course. You’re a literal angel. You’d never mess with anyone,’ Peter smiled, then cleared his throat. ‘So, um, I was wondering if maybe I could, um, buy you dinner… on Friday?’

Balthazar chewed his lower lip, but there was a quirk of it that Peter didn’t miss. 

‘I’m playing an Open Mic on Friday,’ he said slowly, keeping his gaze on Peter. 

Peter’s heart dropped. ‘Oh. Right, that’s- Um, that’s fine-‘

‘But I mean, it’s a free event. So like, I couldn’t keep you from coming. And maybe, if you were still there by the end of the show, maybe, we could grab some late dinner afterward,’ he then said, shy smile back on his face. 

Peter couldn’t hide his own smile. ‘Yeah, alright. I might do that, then.’

They stood there, locking eyes for a moment, smiles plastered on both of their faces. Peter had no desire to be anywhere else but there. 

Balthazar broke the eye contact when a tray of drinks was put in front of him. ‘Um, I should get these to my friends.’

‘Yeah. Yeah, of course. I should get back to my team as well,’ Peter said, not actually wanting to go. 

Balthazar picked up the tray, and with a last look at Peter, he went back to his friends. 

Reluctantly, Peter turned as well and went back to his friends, who were both looking at him with those stupid, knowing smiles. 

‘What?’ he asked when neither of them said anything, just sat there and looked at him for a full minute. 

‘That was some First Class eye-fucking back there,’ Ben said with a straight face. Bea snorted. 

‘Oh, fuck off!’ Peter said, burying his head in his arms on the table to hide his blush. 

‘No, really. That was an experience to watch!’ Bea said, holding her hand in front of her mouth to try and hide her laugh. 

-

Thursday morning, Peter got up earlier than usual. He spent longer than usual on his hair and changed his shirt four times. For once, he was out of the door with time to spare, neglecting Ben who had only just shuffled out of his and Bea’s bedroom as Peter was leaving. 

The lecture hall was half filled when he got there, coffee from Boyet’s in hand. He scanned the seats, his stomach swooping when he found who he was looking for. Heart beating fast, he walked up to where Balthazar was sitting, unpacking his things.

‘Is this seat taken?’ 

Balthazar looked up, smiling when he saw Peter. 

‘Nah, it’s all yours,’ he answered, then nodded at the coffee cup in Peter’s hand as Peter was sitting down. ‘You stopped by Boyet’s?’ 

‘Oh, yeah. I had some extra time,’ Peter said, his ears growing hot. He didn’t want to admit he’d gone there just because he’d been hoping to run into Balthazar before the lecture. 

‘So you’re a morning person?’ Balthazar asked with a smile that told Peter that he was well aware of why Peter had been to Boyet’s. 

‘Not at all,’ Peter laughed. ‘Hence the coffee.’

‘Right,’ Balthazar laughed, looking down at his notebook. 

‘You ditched me without warning just so you could talk to your new boyfriend? That’s just plain rude, Pedro!’ Ben was suddenly sitting down on the other side of Peter. ‘I’m Ben, by the way. Nice to meet you.’

Balthazar shook the hand that Ben had extended past Peter with a smile that Peter couldn’t quite decipher. 

‘Balthazar. And I’m not exactly his boyfriend.’ 

The ‘yet’ hung heavily in the unspoken air between them. Peter’s pulse quickened again, a thrill running down his spine. 

‘Really? Wow, Pete, you’re really taking your time, aren’t you?’ Ben asked, shaking his head in disappointment. 

‘Alright, first of all this is none of your business, _Benedick_ , and second, you and Bea literally took years to get together so you have no right to judge. We literally met a week and a day ago,’ Peter said, not quite ready to admit to himself how much he liked referring to Balthazar and himself as ‘we’. 

‘Okay, sorry! A bit touchy, are we?’

‘Please excuse him. I swear not all of my friends are like this,’ Peter said, turning to Balthazar who was pressing his lips together, trying to hide his laugh. 

‘Nah, it’s fine. I have a couple of questions, though,’ he said. Peter raised his eyebrows, encouraging him to continue. But in that moment, the professor started the lecture and the conversation was suspended. 

-

‘I can’t believe you kept a straight face throughout the entire lecture,’ Peter said, impressed, as they were leaving the building after the lecture. Ben had been giving them very obvious and suggestive looks every time words like ‘mating’, ‘love’ and ‘sex’ came up – which was surprisingly a lot for a lecture on the effects of WWII. 

‘I guess it was easier to ignore when he wasn’t sat right beside me,’ Balthazar said with a shrug, but Peter couldn’t help but notice the quirk of his lip. ‘He seems nice, though. Suggestive looks aside.’

‘Yeah, he’s alright,’ Peter said with a shrug. They sat down on a bench. ‘Do you have any more classes today?’

‘Nah, but I do have that composition assignment that I need to do. In fact, Paige is going to work on it with me,’ Balthazar said, nodding in the direction of where the girl from the bar and Balthazar’s flat was walking towards them, waving at them. She was holding two ukuleles. 

‘Hey Balth, you ready?’ she asked when she reached them. She smiled between Peter and Balthazar, that knowing look in her eyes, just like the one Bea and Ben had had the night before. 

‘Yeah, let’s get to it. Oh, Pete, this is Paige, one of my flat mates and best friend. Paige, this is Peter,’ Balthazar said, looking like he was about to say something more but didn’t. 

Peter stood up and shook Paige’s hand. ‘Nice to meet you.’

‘So Cute History Guy is the same as Cute Pub Quiz Guy, huh?’ Paige asked Balthazar, raising an eyebrow, before turning to Peter. ’It’s nice to meet you too. Balth’s told me a lot about you.’

The butterflies in Peter’s stomach stirred. Balthazar had been talking about him. And apparently he’d noticed Peter before Peter had noticed him. He looked over to see Balthazar’s cheeks turning a deep shade of red. Well, that was just adorable. 

‘Right, we need to get going. I’ll see you tomorrow, Pete?’ Balthazar asked, pushing Paige to start walking away. 

‘Yeah, definitely,’ Peter said, still in a bit of a haze, until something dawned on him. ‘Wait, Balthazar! You never told me where that Open Mic is.’

‘Oh, um, it’s at Boyet’s, actually. The show starts at seven,’ Balthazar replied with a shy smile. 

They stood there for a moment, before Paige cleared her throat. 

‘Right,’ Balthazar said, being pulled back to reality. ‘See ya, Pete.’

‘See ya,’ Peter said and watched Paige and Balthazar walk away, their heads put together and Balthazar gesticulating wildly. 

-

Peter arrived at Boyet’s at seven on the dot Friday night. He’d intended to arrive a little earlier but Freddie had held him up, needing his vote for something that he hadn’t bothered to catch. 

The coffee shop was pretty packed so when he’d gotten his coffee he stood there for a moment, not sure what to do. All the tables were occupied and he didn’t feel comfortable enough to just lean against the counter. 

‘Peter! Over here!’ he heard from one of the tables around the middle of the room. 

It was Paige, he realised. She was sitting with two other girls and a guy Peter didn’t know. Tentatively, he made his way to the table as Paige kept waving insistently for him to come sit down. 

‘Peter, this is Violet, her brother, Zeb, and my girlfriend, Chelsey,’ Paige said, gesturing at the individuals as she said their names. He smiled pleasantly at them. ‘Guys, this is Peter. He’s Balth’s new friend.’

‘Oh, so you’re the reason Balth’s been glued to his phone lately?’ asked the girl Paige had introduced as Violet with a smile. 

Peter felt his ears heat up. ‘Yeah, I guess so.’

‘I can definitely see it!’ Chelsey said with a big smile on her face. 

It was easy falling into pleasant conversation with them. Paige said that there were a couple of acts before Balthazar so they politely applauded when they were over, but otherwise they talked, mostly about university and a little about Balthazar. Apparently, Balthazar had been very private about his and Peter’s relationship so Peter felt a little ambushed at one point, being bombarded with questions. Knowing that Balthazar probably didn’t want them to know too much yet, though, Peter held back as well. Besides, they themselves weren’t exactly sure what their thing was or how it was going to develop. 

The interrogation was cut short by Fred Boyet introducing Balthazar as the next act. 

‘Hello, um. I’m Balthazar and I’ll be playing you a couple of covers as well as a couple of originals. Hope you like it,’ Balthazar said, nerves evident in his voice, but as soon as he began strumming on his guitar, those nerves seemed to vanish. 

Peter was captivated. Not only was Balthazar a talented musician, he was also a brilliant songwriter. About halfway through the second song, Balthazar met Peter’s eye, a smile spreading on his face. Peter felt the butterflies in his gut stir. 

It was magical. Balthazar was some sort of magical being, Peter was sure of it. There was no way a single human being could be that perfect. 

When his set was over, Balthazar left the stage, and Peter was pulled back into the real world to see Paige and the others looking at him with those damn knowing smiles again. He hid his face in his hands. 

It was half an hour before Balthazar came out to their table. Paige had assured Peter that this was something he always did – he always had some time to himself after a gig, it was just his thing. 

Paige, Chelsey, Violet and Zeb all hugged him in turn, saying some variation of ‘That was really good, Balthy,’ before Balthazar had the chance to say hi to Peter. 

‘You were amazing,’ Peter said, beaming at him. 

Balthazar’s face lit up. ‘Yeah? You liked it?’

‘I loved it!’ Peter said, still beaming. 

There was a moment where everyone around the table was quietly watching Peter and Balthazar before Paige made a fake yawn and turned to Chelsey. 

‘I’m really tired. Wanna go home?’ she asked, and Peter could have sworn he saw her wink at Balthazar who blushed. 

‘Yeah, I think I’ll go home as well. Walk me home, Zeb?’ Violet said, and her brother nodded. 

The four of them hugged Balthazar again, once again telling him how well he’d done, before leaving Peter and Balthazar alone at the table. 

‘So…’ Peter said, feeling like he should fill the silence somehow. ‘You wanna go get pizza?’

‘Yeah, that sounds good. Just let me get my stuff first,’ Balthazar said with a smile. 

-

‘So is there anything you can’t do?’ Peter asked Balthazar as they were sitting by the waterfront with a pizza each. They were both sat cross legged, facing each other.

Balthazar thought about it as he chewed. ‘I can’t knit.’

Peter almost choked on his pizza from laughing. ‘What a disappointment!’

‘My grandmother seems to think so,’ Balthazar shrugged but his lip quirked. ‘Really, though, there’s lots that I can’t do. For instance, what did you do in high school? Like, what was your “thing” or whatever?’

‘Uh, let’s see. I guess that would have been football. I was captain of our team. And I was student leader in Year 13 as well,’ Peter said, thinking back.

‘See? Those are two things I’d never be able to do. I’m shit at football and I threw up the last time I was on a stage without an instrument,’ Balthazar admitted.

Peter raised his eyebrows, trying to suppress a laugh. ‘Really?’

‘Yeah, it was not a good time. I told my drama teacher that I’d rather be in the band but she insisted. She was really annoyed when I showed her just how wrong she was!’ Balthazar laughed. ‘I can’t watch West Side Story in the same way anymore.’

‘That’s brilliant!’ Peter laughed, throwing his head back. 

‘I’m glad my painful memory amuses you,’ Balthazar said, trying to keep a straight face but failing miserably. 

‘Well, I mean there has been an imbalance when it comes to embarrassment in this relationship,’ Peter said, not realising what he’d said until he saw Balthazar shift a little in his seat. Panic spread through him. ‘Not that I’m saying that we’re in a- Not that I don’t want- I just- Fuck!’

‘You alright?’ Balthazar asked, the tiniest smile on his lip. 

‘I’m sorry, I just… it wasn’t supposed to come out like that,’ Peter sighed, looking down at his half-eaten pizza. 

‘Look, it’s fine. Really, I don’t mind,’ Balthazar said, trying to catch Peter’s eye. 

Peter looked up. The honest, genuine look in Balthazar’s eyes made him feel brave. ‘I just don’t want to mess this up or move too fast. Because I really like you.’

‘I like you too. But like you told Ben yesterday, we only met a little over a week ago,’ Balthazar said.

‘I know, which is why I’m trying to not move too fast. We’re not there yet, right? So like, just tell me if I need to back away or something,’ Peter said, picking at a thread in his jeans. 

‘Thanks, Pete,’ Balthazar said with half a smile, like he was holding himself back. 

-

For the next four weeks Peter got into a routine of going to the bar for the pub quiz with his flatmates every Wednesday – they still had yet to win, which was driving Bea, Freddie and Ben up the wall – getting up early to meet Balthazar for the lecture every Thursday, and unless one of them had plans, they went out for either lunch or dinner during the weekend. 

Peter found himself getting disappointed if he got a text that was not from Balthazar. It scared him a little, to be honest. He’d never actually felt this way about another person. 

He also found that, even though he was itching to take Balthazar’s hand and kiss him every time they were together, it didn’t really matter that they didn’t, either. As long as Peter got to see him, that was enough. 

At least, that’s what he told himself. 

He’d resolved to let Balthazar make the first move in order to make sure he was as comfortable as possible, but he was sure taking his sweet time. In fact, Peter got the feeling that Balthazar was pulling away from the romantic aspect of their – for lack of a better word – relationship. He was flirting less and generally started treating him like he did his other friends.

It hurt a little, but he liked Balthazar too much to just leave him completely so he followed Balthazar’s lead and took what he could get – if that was friendship and nothing else, that was okay, he figured. At least he’d still get to spend time with Balthazar. 

One Wednesday afternoon, Peter was at the library trying to study for a final in one of his politics courses when his phone buzzed. 

Balthazar Jones:  
_So I just got to the bar and Paige just texted me and said that she and Chels are going to miss tonight’s pub quiz. She usually helps me set up beforehand. I could use some company, if you’re keen :)_

The – by now – standard chest flutter came as he read the text. He started packing up his things before he texted back. 

Peter:  
_Already on my way :)_

The bar was on campus so it wasn’t a long walk before Peter entered the bar. It was next to completely empty, which made sense since it was three in the afternoon on a Wednesday.

Balthazar was by the stage, fiddling with some cables. He was adorably scratching his head, frowning at the ones in his hands, and Peter’s stomach swooped. 

He took a deep breath to try and push down those feelings as he approached the smaller boy. 

‘Need some help?’ Peter asked when he reached the stage, dropping his bag on it. 

‘Yes, please. Paige usually does the tech stuff,’ Balthazar complained. 

Peter couldn’t help but laugh at how adorable he was but reminded himself that he was supposed to give Balthazar the space that he needed. 

It took about an hour for the two of them to figure it out – neither of them had any real tech skills – and Amy rewarded them with a cider each, on the house, as a reward for their hard work. They were sitting on the stage, side by side, drinking their ciders and laughing at something Ben had done the day before around the flat, when Peter steeled himself. 

‘Um, Balth?’ he asked, looking down at his bottle. 

‘Mmh?’

‘I know I said I was cool with taking it slow, and I totally am, but I get the vibe that you don’t want to be anything but friends – which is completely fine, I just… I just need to know so I don’t get my hopes up, you know?’ he said it all while keeping his eyes on the bottle in his hands. 

When Balthazar hadn’t said anything for a few seconds, Peter looked up. Balthazar was looking at him with a disbelieving look on his face.

‘Are you actually being serious right now?’ he then asked. 

‘Well, yeah, I mean-‘ Peter started but Balthazar interrupted him. 

‘Oh my god! When you told me to tell you to back off if you moved too fast I figured you’d keep going at the pace you had until then, but then you seemed to pull away so I figured you’d, you know, gone off me or whatever, and I didn’t want to make things uncomfortable, so I…’ Balthazar said, trailing off but resolutely looked Peter in the eye. 

‘Wait, so you do want-‘ Peter cut himself off, not wanting to be crushed if it wasn’t true. 

Balthazar threw his head back in exasperation for a second. ‘Oh, for fuck’s sake! Come here,’ he said, pulled Peter toward him by the lapels of his flannel shirt and kissed him.

It was like nothing Peter had ever experienced before. Yes, he’d kissed people before. In fact, he’d had a string of one night stands with both guys and girls during his first semester at university so he’d kissed a lot of people. 

But this was like no other kiss he’d ever had. The feel of Balthazar’s soft lips on his, moving slowly, pouring everything he had into it, was enough to make Peter feel like he was soaring. The butterflies in his gut went crazy, moving out to every inch of his body. It took a moment before he responded, cupping Balthazar’s face.

Balthazar broke the kiss, as breathless as Peter was, but didn’t move away. ‘Is that a good enough answer for you?’

Peter licked his own lips and pretended to think it over. ‘I don’t know. I think I might need a little more convincing.’

‘So fucking cheesy,’ Balthazar muttered with a smile before leaning in and kissing him again. 

-

‘So does this mean you’ll be my boyfriend?’ Peter asked, taking Balthazar’s hand and intertwining their fingers. They were still seated on the edge of the stage, ciders completely forgotten, as people began arriving at the bar for the pub quiz. 

‘Yeah, I reckon so,’ Balthazar replied with a grin. 

‘What, you need time to think about it?’ Peter joked. 

Balthazar poked him in the side. ‘Shut up.’

Peter beamed and leaned his forehead against Balthazar’s. 

‘Well, it’s about bloody time!’ Ben called from the other end of the room, resulting in most of the people in the bar turning to look at Peter and Balthazar. 

Peter felt his ears heat up. 

Balthazar stood up, but didn’t let go of Peter’s hand. ‘Right, we’d better go somewhere we’re not, like, on display or whatever.’

‘Yeah, preferably away from my nosy friends as well,’ Peter said, standing as well, shooting a look at the booth where Bea, Ben, Freddie, and Kit were now sitting down, not-so-subtly looking at him and Balthazar. 

‘We have about fifteen minutes before the quiz starts. We could go outside and make out?’ Balthazar suggested casually, as if what he’d just said was the most mundane thing, but there was a glint in his eyes. 

‘Lead the way,’ Peter said, trying to hold back his smile. 

Balthazar led him outside and around the corner, into an alleyway where he pushed Peter up against the wall and started kissing him. 

Peter grabbed Balthazar’s face, deepening the kiss and revelled in the feeling of Balthazar’s body pressed against his own. He wasn’t sure just how long time passed before they broke away from each other but he knew it was way too soon. 

‘Oh,’ Balthazar said, pulling away a little to look at Peter properly. ‘I never got to ask; Pedro?’

Peter groaned and leaned his head back against the wall, moving his hands so he had his arms around Balthazar’s waist. ‘Yeah, that was a nickname back in high school. Ben and Bea still haven’t quite kicked the habit yet.’

Balthazar laughed. ‘That’s amazing! Where do you get _Pedro_ from, though? Got some Mexican relatives somewhere?’

‘Says the guy called _Balthazar_!’ Peter shot back with a laugh, tightening his grip on the boy. 

‘Well, yeah, but at least _my_ name is my actual name – or my middle name, at least,’ Balthazar admitted. ‘There’s literally no excuse for Pedro.’

‘Hold up, your _middle name_? Is this another one of your mind games? Do I not even know my boyfriend’s first name?’ Peter asked in mock offence. 

‘That’s right and you aren’t going to know it for as long as I can help it!’ Balthazar said, putting his arms around Peter’s neck. 

Peter had to concentrate not to be too distracted by how Balthazar was caressing the nape of his neck. 

‘Hey now! You know my embarrassing high school nickname; it’s only fair I know your first name!’ he said, moving in for a quick kiss. 

‘Fine. It’s not a big deal anyway,’ Balthazar said, shrugging. ‘It’s Stanley.’

‘Really?’ Peter asked, pressing his lips together. It was not nice to laugh at someone’s name, and he knew it full well. ‘That’s, um… ordinary.’

‘Shut up,’ Balthazar said, pulling him down for another kiss. 

They were interrupted by someone clearing their throat. When they looked up they found Amy who was trying to suppress a smile. 

‘We’re starting the quiz now.’

-

‘We’re going to win tonight, I can feel it!’ Ben said, excitedly scribbling their team name on the paper in front of him. 

‘What, because Balth’s friends aren’t here?’ Peter laughed.

‘Well, that, and because we have someone on the inside – _finally_ ,’ Bea said, nodding toward where Peter had his arm around Balthazar’s shoulders, Balthazar leaning into him comfortably. 

‘You do realise I won’t help you, right?’ Balthazar asked with a smile, and then – when Ben, Freddie, and Bea looked affronted – added: ‘You abide by the same rules as my friends do; I’m not a part of your team, just a spectator. I’m not allowed to give answers or hints.’

‘What if Peter promises to do whatever you want in the bedroom?’ Ben suggested, winking at Balthazar. 

‘Christ, Benedick!’ Peter exclaimed, sending him a “what the fuck” look before he turned to his boyfriend. ‘I’m so sorry that I have such tactless friends.’

‘You’re forgiven,’ Balthazar said, grabbing Peter’s hand as he poked him in the side, laughing. 

‘Hello, and welcome to tonight’s pub quiz. Remember to write your team name at the top of the page or else your answers won’t be counted. As always we have 10 questions for you as well as a bonus musical question from our resident musical genius,’ Amy said, and Peter felt Balthazar curling further into his side. 

He looked at Balthazar and saw that his face was a deep shade of red. It was adorable; he couldn’t help but pull Balthazar closer and kiss the top of his head. 

‘She’s only telling the truth.’

‘Nah, she’s overselling me. Now people expect me to not make mistakes when I go up there. I’d rather she called me medicore,’ Balthazar said quietly. The two of them where the only ones aware of their conversation. At least, the others didn’t acknowledge it. 

‘Come on, babe. You’ll be great, just like you always are,’ Peter said. Balthazar looked up at him, lips pressed together in an attempt to hold back a laugh. 

‘Babe?’

Peter shrugged. ‘It felt right.’

‘Alright,’ Balthazar said and settled back into his position, snuggled into Peter’s side. 

‘Really? You’re okay with me calling you that?’ Peter asked nervously, not wanting to make Balthazar uncomfortable. 

‘Yeah, you can call me any pet names you want. I don’t mind,’ Balthazar said, nuzzling his face into Peter’s chest. The butterflies in Peter’s stomach stirred. 

‘Can you guys stop being sickeningly cute for a minute?’ Bea asked, and Peter noticed that the others were huddled over the paper in front of Ben. He hadn’t even heard the question. ‘Pete, do you know which king it was Madame de Pompadour was the mistress of?’ 

‘Oh, that was Louis the… fourteenth? Fifteenth?’ Peter said with no conviction. He did, however, feel Balthazar’s fingers subtly drawing a 1 and a 5 on his stomach. ‘Actually, I’m pretty sure it’s fifteenth.’

‘How can you be sure?’ Freddie asked, looking a little lost. ‘They all blur together to me.’

‘Call it a gut feeling,’ Peter said, feeling Balthazar poking his side.

-

‘Right, I’m gonna go help Amy score these,’ Balthazar said, standing and taking the team’s answer sheet. He’d gone straight back to the table after performing the musical question, still maintaining that he wouldn’t help them cheat. Peter had felt Balthazar squeeze his hand when Kit had suggested that it was an upbeat, slightly distorted version of _7 Years_ by Lukas Graham, though. He was still holding Peter’s hand, and Peter didn’t actually want to let him go. ‘I’ll be back in half an hour – tops!’

With a kiss on Peter’s cheek – Peter couldn’t help but beam – he left the booth, and Peter was left to brave his friends alone for the first time since getting together with Balthazar that afternoon. 

‘I just threw up in my mouth a little bit,’ Ben said but he was sporting a huge smile. ‘You’re just too cute.’

‘You’re damn right, we are!’ Peter said but could feel his ears heat up. 

‘We’re all really happy for you, Peter,’ Kit said, his arm around Freddie. Freddie, Bea and Ben all agreed before the conversation shifted to the answers that they were most uncertain of. 

It was strange, knowing that he was no longer the single person in his group. Sure, Balthazar wasn’t quite integrated into the group – Peter had wanted him all to himself – but he was sure that he would be soon enough. For the first time since Bea and Ben started dating at the end of Year 13, Peter didn’t feel like a third – or fifth – wheel; he finally felt like his friends didn’t pity him. 

The best part about it was that he wasn’t with Balthazar because he felt like he needed a significant other to be a proper member of his friend group; he was with Balthazar because he was in love with him. That’s what he was pretty sure it was, at least. He wasn’t going to tell Balthazar – or anyone – just yet. It was still too early. But the way he felt about Balthazar was different from anyone else. And he was over the moon that Balthazar seemed to feel something similar. 

Balthazar came back after only five minutes, sliding into his seat by Peter’s side. Peter shot him a confused look. 

‘I wasn’t allowed to score. Apparently, Amy thinks I’m biased,’ he explained with a laugh.

‘Well, she _did_ catch us making out no more than two hours ago,’ Peter conceded, putting his arm around Balthazar’s shoulders. Balthazar seemed to fit perfectly against his side. 

‘That’s true,’ Balthazar nodded. 

-

It took longer than usual before Amy took the stage again to announce the winner. 

‘Alright, I’ve triple checked the results myself to make sure there was no miscalculations. On third place we have _Kitty Kat Klub_ ,’ she announced, the bar applauded. ‘Second place goes to the _Trench Trackers_ ,’ Another applause. ‘And the winner team of tonight’s quiz, earning a drink of choice at the bar on the house is… _The Lovely Little Losers_!’

The booth cheered and celebrated as the bar applauded, but Peter didn’t miss the suspicious look that Amy sent Balthazar as she left the stage. 

-

‘To victory!’ Ben said, lifting his glass when they’d gotten their free drinks. 

‘And Peter’s excellent gut,’ Kit said, winking knowingly at Balthazar. Peter pressed his lips together to try and hide his smile. 

‘Cheers!’ Peter said, holding his glass up before drinking. 

-

It wasn’t long before Freddie said she needed to go home to look over an assignment for the next day and took Kit with her. Ben and Bea left not long after that, leaving Peter and Balthazar alone in the booth. 

‘I really should go home too,’ Balthazar said with a yawn. A small smile spread on his lips. ‘I have an early lecture tomorrow.’

‘Oh yeah, I guess I do too,’ Peter said, smiling at him. 

Balthazar got up. ‘Walk me home?’

‘The insinuation that I wasn’t going to do that anyway is, frankly, insulting,’ Peter said before he got up and took Balthazar’s hand, intertwining their fingers. 

They packed up Balthazar’s keyboard, putting it out back, said good night to Amy, and before Peter knew it, they were walking through the quiet streets of Wellington. 

They walked most of the way in comfortable silence. Peter spent more time looking at Balthazar than where he was going which resulted in him tripping several times in half an hour. 

‘How much have you actually had to drink tonight?’ Balthazar laughed after the third time.

‘Shut up! I didn’t notice the step down, okay?’ Peter mumbled, but felt a tug at the corners of his mouth. 

‘You really should look where you’re going; I don’t really feel like ending the night at the emergency room,’ Balthazar teased, but Peter knew that he meant it. 

‘But how can I watch my step when I’m walking home with the most wonderful, talented and good looking guy in all of New Zealand, if not the world?’ Peter asked, pulling Balthazar in, stopping them and putting his hands on Balthazar’s waist. 

‘Oh, my god, I’ve landed myself a sap!’ Balthazar laughed as he put his hands on Peter’s shoulders. 

‘I haven’t even started yet,’ Peter promised, leaning down for a kiss.

-

‘So I should probably thank my “gut feeling” for tonight’s victory,’ Peter said as they were turning onto Balthazar’s street. ‘It was a pretty big help.’

‘Yeah, well, don’t expect your gut feeling to help you every time. _My_ gut is telling me that that was a one-time thing. You’re on your own next week,’ Balthazar said, leading Peter up to his door. 

‘Even so,’ Peter said as they stopped, turning to face Balthazar. ‘I appreciate it.’

‘You better,’ Balthazar said and pressed his lips against Peter’s. The butterflies went berserk in Peter’s gut. 

When Balthazar pulled back, he chewed on his lower lip, looking like he was considering something before he said, ‘Do you want to come in?’

‘Are you sure?’ Peter asked, a little surprised by his straightforwardness. 

‘Yeah, I reckon we’re there by now,’ Balthazar smiled as he was fishing his keys out of his pockets. ‘Besides, we have the same lecture tomorrow morning and I live closer to campus than you do.’

‘That’s a very good point,’ Peter said. ‘How could I argue with that flawless logic?’

Balthazar laughed quietly as he unlocked the door. ‘I know, right?’

‘Are you actually sure, though?’ Peter asked, not wanting Balthazar to do anything because he felt pressured into it. They had only been officially dating for a few hours. 

‘Pete, please. If you don’t want to come in I understand. But if you think I’d ask you if I didn’t want to, you’re wrong. I know what I want,’ Balthazar said, looking at him with those genuine, honest, blue eyes. There was a surety there that eliminated any fear that Peter was pushing Balthazar into something he wasn’t comfortable with. 

‘Okay,’ he whispered, not able to tear his eyes away from Balthazar’s. He took his hand, intertwining their fingers. ‘You’re amazing.’

‘I’m also very tired,’ Balthazar said with a smile, but Peter could hear the truth in those words. 

‘Alright, let’s go to bed, then,’ he said, not able to help how nervous he was, saying that. But then Balthazar beamed up at him, and all nerves were washed away instantly.


End file.
